At the behest of the State Bank of Saxony, which realised that its investment in Saxony's car industry was in peril, Audiwerke, Horchwerke and Zschopauer Motorenwerke/DKW merged to form Auto Union AG on June 29, 1932.
The new entity simultaneously concluded an agreement with Wanderer Werke on the purchase and lease of Wanderer's automotive division. The new group chose Chemnitz for its registered office. The symbol of this merger was four rings, the design that serves as the Audi logo to this very day.
Following its creation, Auto Union AG was the second-largest motor vehicle group in Germany. The brand names Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer were retained, and each of the four brands within the group was assigned a specific market segment: DKW for motorcycles and small cars, Wanderer for midsize cars, Audi for cars in the deluxe midsize segment, and Horch for luxury cars at the top end of the market.
To enhance its public profile, the new company decided in 1934 to enter motor racing at the very highest level – Grand Prix events. During the next few years the Auto Union "Silver Arrow" cars won countless races, championships and world records on racetracks in many different countries.
Source-audi.com
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